


Your hand, my fate

by radio_screams



Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Abuse, Depression, Emotional Manipulation, M/M, Multi, Oni Hanzo Shimada
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-06-15
Updated: 2019-04-23
Packaged: 2019-05-23 19:22:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 9,765
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14940342
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/radio_screams/pseuds/radio_screams
Summary: A young man who fell in love with death, he cannot escape this birdcage no more.Jesse McCree is a servant in the royal court. But the people he works for, his masters, are cruel creatures, making it hard for him to live. One day he makes a wish, a wish that will come true, but for a price.





	1. The night that changed his life

**Author's Note:**

> Excuse me for this English  
> Enjoy anyway

The summer night was suffocating and humid, hot and sticky, just like the sweat that ran down his forehead. He was panting, legs hurting from the long run, heart throbbing painfully in his chest. But all of that was not to be compared to the terror inside and the fear of pain and punishment his cruel masters would enforce upon him.

He had done something that gave his masters enough reasons to threaten him with death, and he knew he couldn’t stay there any longer.

No, he couldn’t. After all he has been through; the humiliation, the pain and mistreatment, he wanted to stay alive… for some reason, unknown to him yet, he had the feeling that he shouldn’t die so soon, no matter how much he wished for this miserable life to end, no matter how little hope he had for a future.

And so he ran, branches and thorns from bushes and trees scratching along his skin, tangling his clothes, ripping pieces of fabrics. He looks awful now, dirty and messy, confused and scared. His legs take him to a forest clearing, soft rays of moon beams reaching down to him, lighting his view. Tired from all the pain and chaos inside, he starts walking slower, uneven, swaying left and right. It was hard to see, tears were blurring his sight and it was getting darker around him by each passing moment.

The lost servant didn’t realize that he was losing conscience until his legs give out. He ends up tripping, heavy body rolling on the dirty ground and ultimately losing his senses. Numb, unable to move, tired.

His body was floating in water, as it seems. How he fell into the lake was a question he couldn’t find no answer to yet, his mind probably didn’t register the fact that he had been walking towards the lake in the first place, due to exhaustion and the grave mental stress he was suffering from. It was… so relaxing.

Just floating in the water, letting his heavy body get carried away, his sore muscles being treated by it.

That’s it, yeah. Just letting oneself get carried away by the cool, healing water, underneath the moon and the stars, far away from the heat and terror, from the pain in his limbs. Far away from the worries plaguing his mind… just far, far away.

He closes his eyes.

Jesse does not remember having autumn or winter at that time. So there could not be any logical explanation for sudden occurrence of massive, thick fog around the lake. But most importantly he does not remember those ominous, brilliant red colored spider lilies. Their petals were sickly twisted in every direction, just like the long and ugly legs of a spider.

Those menacing flowers were covering the shore, and that’s all he could see now. Grayish water, red spider lilies and massive fog that blinded his surrounding… he couldn’t tell where he was anymore, or find the way back home. But he was dragged away from his thoughts when the water started shifting, gentle waves were distorting his reflection on the surface.

He looks up, gasping when he finds something floating above the water, causing it to wave from where it stands. That thing, in other words, was a strange… person.

They wore a long white dress, with red frills and patterns at the bottom of it. Their skin ashen gray, with crimson markings all over their body and long ebony colored hair. There was a certain dangerous and malicious aura that radiated from them, and yet a hidden beauty behind those empty white eyes.

Their voice sends a shiver down his spine, how it echoed, mighty and powerful. “Hello Jesse. I’m glad to finally meet you in person.” Jesse realizes that it was an old man, a handsome and terrifying one, as well. But the servant quickly shakes himself out of it, trying to get up.

“Who are you… and how do you know my name?” He asks, not denying how scared he was at this moment.

“Let’s say that I have my powers. I’m able to watch humans from here. I am also able to change your path and pull some strings here and there. And you are one of the humans who I have my eyes on.” Jesse is startled. Pull the strings? Watch humans? Could it be…?

“I…am I dead…?” The man chuckles, a soft and sweet kind of melody in Jesses ear.

“No. You’re just not alive.” The servant stares at him.

“But… that would mean that I am dead… right?”

“No. You’re neither dead nor alive.” He says, a smirk on his face, amused at the human’s limited capacity of knowledge. “Don’t you worry, human. You don’t have to understand what was not made for your kind in the first place. What is important for now is why I brought you here.”

Jesse gives him a nod, ready to understand what the reason behind all of this was. The man who was floating above the waters finally lands on his feet. Gracefully and elegant. The water stopped shifting, even when he was clearly moving his feet in the liquid. Jesse wonders if his hand would go through the stranger if he tried to touch him, but shoved that thought aside for now when the other was approaching him.

“You’re such a loyal servant, Jesse McCree. But I know you suffer a lot. I have been watching you, and how you have been treated.” The man waves his hand over the water surface, and suddenly their reflections distort into a new image. It was like looking through a window, the water like glass, clear and see-through.

But the images that appeared on them were causing the servant to panic.

Jesse sees fragments of his very own memories. When he was only a child, having to be exposed to cruelty and pain at such a young age, knowing nothing but degradation and submission.

Pictures of him growing up into a household that lacked affection and safety, with no mother or father to tell him what’s wrong or what’s right, no one to help the little heart of his grow in a healthy way.

The man notices how Jesse was looking away, a sad expression on his face.

“Please, I don’t have to see this, I’m convinced enough.” Jesse says. The other man nods, waving over the water and the image vanishes, Jesses own reflection staring back at him in the end.

“What is it that you want from me?” The servant asks, his will broken and at the end of his powers. He wanted nothing more but to just get it over with. Whatever this man was planning on doing to him. He just wanted to end it all as fast as possible.

The man smiles, a hint of menace behind the corner of his lips.

“I felt with you, McCree, I really did. I was thinking: wow. This poor guy really is living an unfair life. Why don’t I lend him a hand here and there? He could use a little help.” These words… there was a hint of temptation lingering inside of McCree, curious about what kind of ‘help' that man was offering.

“Now all that I wanted to discuss with you is if you would be ready to make a deal with me.”

Jesse looks up, confusion in his eyes. “A.…deal? What kind of deal? And why me out of all people?”

That’s where the stranger’s eyes flicker, like a spark lightning inside him.

“You called for me, remember? You asked for my help. You wished that someone would save you from the suffering you’re cursed to live in, day for day.”

Jesse takes a step back, not fully understanding what the man was hinting at and what he was talking about exactly. But his blood freezes when Jesse remembers. He did ask for help from this… Oni. He did call out to him. And he said he was ready to give anything to be free.

“What’s your deal, Oni?” Jesse says, knowing that there is no escape, no way back since he had entered an Onis space, since he asked for an Onis help and was fetched by one in the very end.

“Your life, my power.” The Oni says, slightly holding his hands out for the servant, inviting, offering. “I will grant you the power to escape from this never-ending nightmare, but for the price of your mortality. Your ability to die and decay would be stripped off of you. Think about it, isn’t it a great deal?”

“…my life…?” He asks, unsure of what that Oni was talking about. But slowly the pieces come together, and it clicks. Could it be... ”I-Immortality?” His eyes widen.

This Oni was offering him eternal life and freedom both at the same time… something must be off.

“Think about it, McCree. You will not die, and you will live your life free from pain and suffering from those monsters.”

“And… and you’re not fooling me?” Jesse asks, suspicious of every word that came from that stranger.

“No, I would not be lying. You see, I have felt empathy with you, dear servant. That’s why I decided to respond to your pleas to me in the first place. Doesn’t that make sense to you?” The servant closes his eyes.

There was a strange feeling in his guts, something telling him to turn away, to rather die than trust an Oni with his life… but on the other hand… he was scared that if he wouldn’t agree that he would either face a fate worse than his masters’ abusive household or that he will have to be returned to them again… He doesn’t want to go through either of them at all.

But immortality… really?

“Consider. You’ll get to be free from them, live wherever you want, with whoever you want. It can make it up to all the time that has been stolen from you, the time where you could have grown up in a happy home. Don’t you want that? Didn’t you wish for that when you asked me to come to help you that night?”

Living forever, doing anything he wants maybe… find happiness on his own, never fearing losing precious time… his existence wouldn’t go to waste…

“Fine. I will trade my mortality for these powers.” He says, getting up, looking into the Onis eyes confidently. Jesse notices that he was surprisingly taller than the Oni. The other man was smiling, calm and yet so superior despite the height difference.

“Then it’s a deal.” And with these words, the red spider lilies shift, their petals extending their lengths and reaching meters for meters. Red strings were suddenly wrapping around the servants body, capturing him in a tangled mess.

He was captured in a crimson cobweb, gasping and calling out in fear, in confusion. The strings were tightly pulling on his limbs, cutting through his skin, his blood trailing down with the red strings.

“It hurts!” He yells, tears running down his face. Something warm was touching his visage, and when he opens his eyes, he flinches when he sees the Oni up so close to him. He was caressing the servant’s cheeks, smiling calmly as before.

“Don’t worry, it will be over soon.” He hums, ignoring Jesse’s pained whining, ignoring his pleads and the blood that was being spilled everywhere. His muscles and skin were burning when the thin, sharp threads were getting tighter and tighter each passing second.

If this goes on, he will die. But it just won’t stop. The threads keep digging deeper and deeper into him, drawing more cries of agony and hurt out of his throat.

He grows weaker, his body was being stripped off of its vital liquid. And in the end, when he closes his eyes and everything fading to black, he knows that this was not over yet.


	2. His name

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I work alone so excuse my english

There was a voice. Faint, far away and weak. And with that voice came an image, blurry and gray…

  
But slowly with each passing moment the picture started to take form, colors and the voice was getting louder and clearer as well.

  
An image of a red bridge, big and beautiful, it’s colors and wood fresh and solid. It was old, almost held sacred to the villagers due to how fresh it’s colors remained, even if it was over hundreds of years old.

The bridge corners the forest and the border of the village. It said that the bridge was enchanted, possessed by an old spirit which was supposed to serve humans.

  
You throw a few coins into the water underneath the bridge and the spirit fulfils you one wish. But the people saw it as nothing more but a fairytale, with no clear origin or whatsoever. There was no spirit that could honestly fulfil anyone’s wishes for a few bronze coins, right?

  
But that day Jesse was weak, at the end of his powers, not in his right mind, even the most irrational things seemed like and escape out of this hell, like he could grasp for the thinnest straws in hopes for a better place.

  
He was not physically hurt that day, no. It was rather an emotional low moment for him, one that caused him to act insignificant and foolishly.

  
Thinking about home, how he had no roots, no family, a man born and raised alone. He was shoved into a life of a servant, a position he never asked for, and was soon going to die as one without accomplishing anything else in life. He existed solely to be a punching bag, not living up to no name, his worth easily to be replaced with any other servant in the market.

  
Was a life like this worth living, on top of that with pain and loneliness?  
He was sobbing, walking alone at night, wanting to clear his head from the mess inside.

  
He needed to walk. Some nights, when there was no hope for him left, he needed to take a walk.  
And that night he walked around the village, aimlessly, not caring for how far his feet can get him… until he found himself crossing the bridge.

  
He didn’t notice it at first. But when he slowly realizes the symbolism… no, the irony of this situation. As a result of desperation, he couldn’t help but fall into childish thinking. There was no use in hoping for such stupid things to work. A bridge spirit listening to his pleas.

  
Foolish.

  
But yet, he did throw a coin. He did ask for salvation. With tears streaming down his face, on his knees, trying to find balance upon the wooden bridge by clinging to the fence, his mind so weak that his body started trembling.

  
“Please. Put and end to this. Spirits, fairies, heavens… anyone… please… just let me die!”

-  
His eyes flutter open.  
Was this all just a dream? Did he just get killed by an Oni?  
Suddenly his blood freezes, the memories of last night coming back to him like a tidal wave.

  
This… could not have been a dream. The flowers were still surrounding him, as well as the unsettling amount of fog.

  
Something warm and soft caresses his left cheek, and when he looks up he discovers the Oni above him, his face flipped upside down. Jesses head was resting on the Onis lap, he had fallen unconscious from before, and the other man had put him in a comfortable position.

Jesse’s cheeks heat up when the other man won’t stop caressing his face and cradling his fingers in the brown locks of the servant.

  
The Oni notices the embarrassment in Jesse’s face, smiling down at him, eyes narrowed. “You’re finally awake, servant.” He says, teeth glistering in the faint light. The servant sits up, almost wishing to fall back into the Onis lap when his head starts spinning.

  
“Ah… what… what happened?” Jesse massages his sides, it felt like thousand knives were cutting through his skull. The burning pain was too much.

  
“You just signed a contract, don’t you remember?” The Oni gets up on his feet. “The process of turning you immortal is painful, now you’re just experiencing the aftermath of your conversion. Don’t worry, it’s like the day after drinking too much sake, the pain will fade away after a while.”

  
“Huh, I see…” Jesse says, still dizzy and hurt, not able to stand without risking to fall. “…I…I must go back now.” His voice was only a soft mutter; it gave away how unpleasant it was for the servant to return to the palace.

Was he really immortal now? Did he just make a deal with an Oni? But what was all that about?  
He doesn’t understand why an Oni would possibly want to make a deal like that. What would he profit out of Jesse becoming immortal and having ‘powers’ to be freed from his masters, what were these powers even? So many questions left unanswered, him being left confused and lost, not understanding what he had gotten himself into.

 

He was in his bed now. His stomach was empty, aching from how hungry he was. His limbs hurt so, so much. He had been punished, the punishment marked and drawn all over his body. The colors red and purple, the colors of pain and hate.

  
He didn’t cry that night. In fact he didn’t even feel shameful and sad that he was punished. It made him feel alive; it reassured that he was still here in this world, alive and existing. Maybe it was all a dream after all, caused by stress and lack of energy.

So he closes his eyes, tired of this world and all which happened in it. He waits until sleep comes to take him to places far away. A place safe and beautiful, warm.

He was starting this day off with working in the palaces garden. It was surely unlike his masters to like flowers that much. They were rough people, fast to judge and discipline, rarely merciful, rarely forgiving. The many beautiful and delicate plants, of all colors and kinds were contradicting their harsh nature.

  
The huge garden could be mistaken for a forest, and one could literally get lost in it when not being careful enough. Out of all the chores he has to do in this palace, gardening was his very favorite.

He was safe from his masters here, a place where he was protected by tender colors, where he could sit for hours and work to his likings.

  
“I had no idea that you liked flowers, Jesse.”  
A familiar voice pulls the servant out of his drifting thoughts, and he spins around to see who was talking, who snuck into the garden without him noticing.

  
The Oni sat on one of the benches, smiling mischievously. He wore a different dress now. A blue, beautiful and expensive one with patterns and ornaments complimenting the Onis elegant and yet athletic figure.

The Oni was carrying an umbrella, protecting him from the sun… even if the sun was being covered by passing clouds often today.

  
“Looks like we have something in common.” He continues while Jesse was just shaking himself out of it, getting up and stumbling a little. He was too surprised, shocked even to have the Oni in his safe space, his masters’ palace…

  
“What are you doing here?!” Jesse exclaims. He was scared that someone could come in and find him talking to an Oni. This would only end badly for him.

  
“Relax, good servant. I’m just here to check on you, seeing how you are doing so far.” The Oni was ever so calm, which made the servant even more furious, he knew exactly that there was more to why he came here, he was just playing with his nerves for now.

  
“I see you still didn’t do anything about your masters. Aren’t you excited to try out your new powers yet? How ungrateful, and I just gave it to you yesterday!”

  
The whole teasing was intentional, and Jesse knew it. He stands tall before the Oni, hands on his hips and brows furrowed. “I don’t even know what kind of powers you gave me along with immortality. How can I make sure you didn’t lie about THAT part, as well…? you didn’t tell me much.”

Jesse explains to his own defense. And with that, he turns his back to the Oni, as if looking at him was too much to handle at the moment. He adds quietly, eyes downcast. “I don’t even know your name…”

  
But the Oni somehow still finds amusement in Jesse’s cluelessness. He laughs, carelessly and belittling. He gets up, his umbrella over his head. “You’ll figure everything out soon.” He says, turning his back to the servant, walking towards the shade underneath the thick trees.

The dark spot underneath the big, thick trees was so intense that the Oni could be swallowed by the dark of it so easily. “You can call me Hanzo, by the way.” He says, raising his arm as a goodbye and vanishing into the dark.

  
“Wait-!” Jesse calls, walking after him, but the Oni was gone. Even when the servant steps into the shadows he can’t see him anymore. Impossible. How can he disappear into the dark like that? But he was an Oni after all, not human…

  
The servant shakes his head, challenged by all that was happening. It all was too fast and overwhelming for the servant. He still needs time to come to terms with his immortality, if he really was immune to death or if he was being tricked by that Oni is another question… and also find out what kind of powers he has and how to use them.

 

Inside the palace his duties were awaiting the servant. He leaves his beautiful world behind for now, locking the gardens gates and entering the foyer.

  
His masters were both men of a high social class, noble and admired by everyone in the village, maybe even feared a little. One of them was in the royal court, waiting for Jesse to come in.

Jesse didn’t know where the other one was, and he didn’t even see him the night before. The one awaiting him was Zhao, the… tender one out of the two. Unlike Takao, the one not present here, he would exchange a few words with the servant, maybe consider forgiving him when Jesse would make mistakes from time to time.

But whenever Zhao is showing tendencies of gentleness and mercy, Takao steps in and changes the course of situations. Jesse hated Takao most, he was cold, he was harsh and sadistic, and always watching his servants, waiting for them to make a mistake so he can punish them.

  
Luckily, it was only Zhao in the royal court.  
“McCree, glad we have you back.” The master mocks, smiling viciously at the servant who was kneeling before the throne. “It would have been a pity if we were to lose you. You are one of our most precious servants here. Where could we find a new specimen like you if you’d never return?”

  
Jesse knew that this was a rhetoric question, no answer expected from the servant.  
“You’re lucky Takao was not here since yesterday, or else you would face worse of consequences.” He says, his expression sharpening, the smile fading. The way the master was looking down at Jesse made him feel so little, so useless and pathetic. Jesse hated that feeling.

  
“Behave now, do your work properly and don’t ever try to get in my way, and I won’t have to tell Takao about all of this, understand?”  
“Yes, master.” Jesse says, bowing deeply when he’s dismissed.

So later on that day, when the sun is about to set, he was assigned to go the village’s local market. He had his basket and shopping list with him, walking around the streets, searching the stores and maybe exchanging a few words with people he knew.

  
He liked going out to shop for his household. That was the only way he could interact with other people from the outside world, providing him with news and stories that he would usually not have access to when living in the secluded life in that cage-like palace.

  
But today’s gossip subject was far different than the usual ones he hears in this small village.

  
“Wait, what do you mean by that? What are astral guardians?” Jesse asks in confusion. He was currently stopping at Miss Amari’s shop to buy some herbs.

He knew that she was the most up to date civilian in here, and the two were at great terms with each other.

  
“Oh, well… that’s what they were called since forever. All I know is that they serve an important purpose in that Temple… you know, the one which has been abandoned for years.

I heard they live there for a week or two now, and they watch over this village and all the land extending from here to the great ocean. Anyway, I think it’s great that we have four guardians protecting us from harm. One can never be sure when misfortune would strike.”

  
“Yeah… one can never know…” He mumbles, a feeling of sickness in his stomach.


	3. He's always watching

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "You've been watching me dress, and undress, you say you like my velvet night gown. Is there anything to hide from you, at all?"

„Hey, has anyone seen Soba?“ The white tiger enters the main halls, looking around nervously.

“I can’t find her…”

But nobody would answer, and he starts to wonder where everyone else is. Did something happen? Did he miss out on something today? He didn’t know, and that aroused panic in him. It felt like he was in a ghost temple…

“Hello?! Anyone here?!” The warrior calls out, his own voice returning to him in form of an echo. Still there is no answer. God, this was getting annoying. Where is everyone? He runs into the sanctum, looking around and expecting the azure dragon to be busy with her daily prayers, but she wasn’t there.

Then he runs to the garden, out of breath because of the pounding fear and stress. He expected to find the black turtle surrounded by birds and other cute animals, or watering the beautiful flowers, but even she wasn’t there to take care of her little friends.

He puts his last hope on the vermillion bird, but even when he arrives at the balcony, where she would usually be drinking tea, his hopes are shattered when finding that spot abandoned.

The white tiger steps in, looking out of the balcony and wondering; just what on earth he was probably missing on. His eyes dart from left to right, examining the view of the forest and the sunset.

And there he sees it, his heart dropping and fingers suddenly running ice cold. There were flowers everywhere. Not normal flowers, no. there were too many flowers in front of him.

This forest never had that many flowers before, and they were not as bright and brilliant like these red petals. They seemed as if they were to glow, even from so far away.

They cover the forest completely; the thick green trees were nothing to be compared with the deep red flowers that extended over the whole landscape. What was the meaning of this? How was it possible that a whole ocean of red flowers would grow over the night in such vast speed and width?

This clearly was no work of nature. His stress level was increased, and he thinks quickly. If nobody was here then there was no use in staying here, waiting for anything to happen or let this strange case explain itself.

He takes a leap and soon his body was floating. A white tiger spirit like him was able to fly easily, he can land wherever he wants to and he can stay in the air if he wishes so, as well.

His first destination was the human village, the place where he would only attend to when there was some sort of trouble to get rid of, and it seemed like those flowers were foreshadowing a problem already.

 

Miss Amari was busy bringing out some barrels, placing them in a row in front of her shop. She swipes the sweat off of her forehead, huffing and shaking her head.

The setting sun was still hot and burning her skin, but then the heat cools off all of a sudden, and she notices a sort of a shadow forming above her.

She looks up in confusion, relaxing immediately when she spots the white tiger floating in the sky. He takes a landing right in front of her, clouds of dust forming around his feet when he settles down carefully.

“What a rare sight, how are you, Genji?” She asks, leaning against one of the barrels. She was one of the few who addressed the white tiger with his birth name. Amari respects him, just like everyone else in the village, but the difference lies in the old memories and trust between them… and of course the age difference as well.

He would never call her by her first name. “Good afternoon, Miss Amari. I came here for a specific matter.” She immediately tenses up, knowing by the tone of his voice that it was serious.

“What’s wrong, did something happen?”

“Well… how do I put this?”

 

 

 

“So, have you figured how to use your gifted powers properly yet?”

This voice, sharp and cold, causes the servant to freeze on the spot.

He turns around, heart thumping loudly and painfully in his chest.

This can’t be.

The Oni cannot visit him here and now! Not again!

Jesse puts the books that he was organizing aside, walking up to the Oni who lazily laid on the big couch, he was swaying his legs in a relaxed manner and giving Jesse a provoking smile.

“What on earth? How did you get in here?” The servant stands tall before him, looking down at him, anger written all over his face. But Hanzo was not impressed at all.

He yawns, bored and still thinking little of the servant.

“Honestly, you should have really learned that I have my ways by now.” Hanzo throws back at him. And there he swings his legs, sitting up and getting up on his feet.

He wasn’t taller than Jesse, and yet the servant’s first reaction was to take a step back when Hanzo faces him.

“What do you want?” Jesse asks carefully, wary of what Hanzos intentions were. Was he about to ask for favors? Ask for payments for the immortality he was gifted with? They stand there for a while, Jesse tensed up and ready for anything Hanzo had come up with, while the Oni just stares at him, his expression hard to read.

“I took it upon myself to check on you every now and then, to make sure you’re doing well. I must say it disappoints me that you’re such a slow person. I have been waiting for so long, where is the action?”

“What are you talking about?”

The servant was unsure of what Hanzo was trying to imply. He watches how the Oni was walking around the library, curios eyes wandering from one shelf to another, amazed by the huge collection of books.

“Hm. I bet you also have a love for literature. Another thing we share, isn’t that great?” There he was doing it again. Going back and forth with his teasing and the secrecy.

Is it too much to ask from the Oni to just say what he wants, explain why he came here and get it over with?

Hanzo grins at the annoyed look that he earns from the servant, he is satisfied with playing around with his nerves that way. When he decides that he had enough fun for now he comes to the point.

“Alright. Listen closely. The powers I gave you allows you to manipulate a person’s life essence.”

The Oni states, as if it was not much of a deal, not caring if it caused confusion to Jesse.

“What does that mean?” “It means you can kill slowly.” He grins, sharp teeth glistering in the light, sending shivers down Jesses spine.

“I… what?”

“I just thought I could drop you a little hint since you’re taking too long to decide how to use your powers.

Honestly, it was absolutely no fun watching you doing nothing.” And there those words suddenly make him feel bothered. What did he just mean by that?

“Wait… you have been watching me? For how long…when…?”

The way Hanzo can intimidate the servant so easily was such a pleasure, the Oni loves drawing those reactions out of him.

“Well, let’s say that I watch you more often than you’d think.”

Hanzo says, winking at the slowly blushing servant. But Jesse doesn’t find this amusing at all, he felt exposed and... just weirded out by him.

“I swear I will kick you out if you’re not turning this conversation into something meaningful!”

“Geez, calm down. Don’t have to get all rough on me. Besides, it’s not like I will stay away if you’d try to get rid of me.”

Hanzo walks over to the table underneath the window, sitting on it as if he was in his own home. Just as when Jesse wanted to warn him that he cannot come here to do whatever he pleases, the Oni speaks up.

“As I just said, your powers are heavily linked to controlling people’s life. You can kill as many people as you want, you can drain their essence and weaken them if you just want them to suffer. But…”

His white eyes were suddenly sharp, piercing right through Jesse’s skin.

“You can use this gifted power only once, and you have to figure out how to use it on your own.”

Jesse blinks, processing what Hanzo just told him. It was good to finally have some parts of this mystery solved, for example what his powers even were and what he can do… and yet he has many more questions popping up in his head.

Jesse turns his back to the Oni, rethinking all of these words, trying to comprehend the meaning behind ‘how to use it on your own’. What should he try to do so he can activate them?

Is there a specific way to do that? For example, does he have to cast a spell? Learn a magic code word to unleash those powers? And can he control them?

This was the important question. If it was really about choosing whether to hurt someone or kill them, as to quote after Hanzo, or if he had no word in it at all.

And what benefits can that sly Oni have from gifting Jesse those powers?

He looks upon the pile of books on his desk, his fingers brushing over the hard covers of the thick object.

 _“A poor man’s hamartia”_ a book he loved reading back in the day.

He smiles to himself, at the irony, at fate that mocked him that way.

He turns around to face Hanzo, wanting to throw those questions that have been bothering him for so far, to finally put an end to this confusion and lack of reasoning.

But the Oni was not there anymore.


	4. Catastrophe

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have been unmotivated lately because I felt ashamed of my bad grammar. But then I thought 'what the hell' and like I'm doing this for fun and I wanna share a piece of my beloved fantasy. In the end the viewers will interpret this their own way, good grammar or not.

“Will he be fine?” The vermillion bird asks, standing there timidly, unsure of what to do. The azure dragon was kneeling next to an old man, her strong hand wrapped around his wrist.

“He is alive for now, but he’s very weak. If we don’t find a solution to this crisis then he and many others will die. We cannot let this happen.” She then gets up on her feet, standing straight and confident. Mercy was sure she knew what that meant.

“You have made a decision, Pharah. Care to share with us?” Mercy smiles, eyes narrowed at her ally. Pharah seems to hesitate, but then she turns around, standing tall before the other woman.

“It looks like we have to take the matters of this case in our own hands. Praying won’t help at this moment.” She then turns her head, gazing up at the orange tainted sky.

“I’m convinced that we’re supposed to act now instead of waiting for a miracle to solve this. We have to rely on this decision.”

Pharah turns to her allies again, declaring that it was about time to go. “We have to trust in this plan, we do not know the outcome yet, so we have to do what’s in our power to fulfill the course of this chosen fate.”

“I mean, I’m not the advocate in our group, but I doubt that this is the chosen path.” The black turtle was always the one to doubt Pharahs words. She might have been (non-verbally) declared to be the spiritual leader of the group, but Zarya still doubts that what she cannot see or touch until there was solid proof.

“Do you have any other ideas, Zarya?” The azure dragon snarls at her. She have had enough of Zarya always questioning and making speculations, which were pretty unnecessary at most cases, since it was a waste of time and energy.

Zarya looks her in the eyes; there was a tension of rivalry between them, two warriors exchanging deadly glares, fighting for dominance and position. Luckily, the vermillion bird steps in-between the two, pushing them away from each other.

“Alright, you two. That’s enough for now. Save your temper up for later, we can’t afford the time we’re losing right now, our people are slowly dying and we should find out what’s happening instead of fighting for superiority.” She was right, the time was running out and they had absolutely nothing to begin with. No clues, no points to start off.

“We should definitely visit the human village. They could help us get an idea of what’s going on.” Pharah decides, and there were no objections to that.

 

“Recently my herbs and flowers have decayed and withered way too fast.” Miss Amari crams in her pockets, pulling out a pile of dark leaves.

“Those used to be cherry blossoms. Can you believe this? How can flowers turn to… literal ashes when withering?” Genji takes the little leaves in his fingers, looking closer into it, trying to find any sort of hints.

Yes, it was strange. The petals were ashes in his fingers now, gray powder covering his fingertips.

“This is not all.” Amari adds, and Genji jerks his head up, surprised that there was more to tell. “The daughter of the village’s chief was suddenly sick, and nobody can tell where she caught the virus. And you wanna know what is even weirder about this case?”

She covers her mouth, stepping closer to the white tiger. “The symptoms were raising even more questions. Her case is unidentifiable: she just sleeps. “ At that, Genji raises an eyebrow, not understanding what she was trying to imply with that statement.

Was it bad that the girl was just tired? “Really, she neither coughs nor sneezes. She simply lays there, weak and fragile, and I tell you she is literally dying every passing moment.”

The white tiger stares at her with wide eyes and Amari smiles mockingly when his face is turning paler. This sounded too much like a horror story. And he was supposed to get behind that?

“Well… can I maybe pay that girl a visit to take a proper look by myself?” Genji asks, and the alchemist agrees immediately, wanting to take him to the chief right away.

But she hesitates when there were footsteps audible behind the white tiger, and in his unease, thanks to the story that he has been just told, he spins around with bared teeth, ready to fight and defend himself.

But he relaxes, letting out a deep sigh when it turns out to just be Master Zhao’s and Takao’s servant.

“Why, Jesse, what are you doing here? I thought you finished shopping an hour ago.” Amari was welcoming her favorite costumer, devoting her attention to him instead of continuing her little investigation with the astral guardian.

“Ah, I just came here because I forgot to buy some camellia. Do you have any left?” Genji looks him up and down, quite intrigued by his look. He appeared to be very well mannered. He was well built, athletic and tall, and was gifted with a pretty face.

Not bad for a human, Genji thinks to himself. “Sorry, honey, but all of my collection of plants have been damaged by an unknown disease.”

The elderly woman says with a playfully sad tone, shoving her hands in her pockets to emphasize the misfortune that came upon her by spreading the ash of her dead plants like powder all across the ground.

“Huh, well that’s quite strange. What happened?” He asks genuinely. But the reaction of the other two was puzzled disbelief.

“You… you don’t know?” Amari asks, as if she had not expected that kind of answer at all.

“Umm… what am I supposed to know?” Unsure of what she was talking about, Jesse was starting to feel a little lost.

“Jesse. The whole village is losing its floral resources. Nothing here blooms besides the red spider lilies cornering the temple. You really don’t know?”

“…well… our flowers are still blooming. I mean, I’m the gardener of the palace, if something happened to the flowers then I should have noticed it first.“

That is strange, Genji thinks. Could it be that the disease didn’t reach the palace yet, or was their secluded property protecting them from being infected?

“What’s your name?” Genji asks, his arms crossed, eyes narrowed as he suspects the servant.

“Jesse McCree.” “Would you mind if I took a look into your palace?” At that, Jesse’s reflexes made him cover his neck with one of his hands, taking a step back.

Amari doesn’t really take note of that little detail, she wouldn’t ever put Jesse under the lights anyway, since she would blindly trust an old friend.

Genji however believes to have hit a nerve; he didn’t miss on that little reflex of the servant, his eyes stuck on that spot on his neck which he was covering.

“I… I can’t let you do that. It would be against my master’s convenience.” “Oh, yeah? Well, if you wouldn’t have anything to hide, then your masters won’t mind me investigating a little, eh?”

“That’s not the point. It’s just… My masters aren’t home, so I will be punished for letting you in, regardless if you’re in charge of the city or not.” Jesse hated lying, especially lying to the face of someone who was in a superior position.

But the fear of being punished, yet worse, of somehow being caught for having ties with an Oni was far greater than his respect for the authorities.

There is a long moment of tension between the two men, Genjis cold eyes staring right into the stubborn pair of the servant, challenging, fighting with gazes.

But eventually they break that tension when Amari speaks up, stealing the guardian’s attention from the servant.

“Maybe you can visit him later. Come on now, you wanted to check on the chief’s daughter, didn’t you?” The elderly woman pats his shoulder, walking ahead of him.

The white tiger sees no point in going on about this, it seems like Jesse won’t give in that easily. Before he follows her he shoots a last glance to the servant, still icy cold and suspicious of his intentions.

It looks like Jesse needed to pay much more attention to who he will talk to in the future. He was on thin ice, having a sort of a connection with an Oni like that could not only bring troubles to his career but most likely end his life on extreme cases… Worries and speculations aside for now.

He needed to find that Oni and confront him about what on earth was going on. Jesse had no clue either, and he was being honest about not knowing anything of the flower incident until now. What was the meaning of all of this?


	5. Chase you

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Super sorry if I made anyone wait. I was battling with my insecurity about this fan fiction. But don't worry, I wrote a lot more, there will be definelty and ending to this.

The candle sconces lit the palaces hallways with their dim light, giving a warm and soothing atmosphere. But the loud footsteps echoing through the halls were hasty, breaking the silence.

  
Zhao was unsettled, he just had learned about the sudden illness which slowly infected the villagers. But a selfish and ignorant man like him was only really worried about himself and his flowers.

He immediately took the fastest route to arrive at his garden, wanting nothing but to be reassured that his precious flowers were fine, and he wanted to see them with his own eyes.

  
“Master…” Jesse was sitting between the bushes of roses, he was busy weeding the flowers out and planting new shoots. Zhao frowned, grimacing in slight disgust when finding his servant and gardener in this state, clothes and hands covered in mud. Of course, it was only natural when working in the garden, so why was he so disgusted by this picture?

  
“I see they are all fine.”

Not giving his servant any further attention, Zhao proceeded to look after his valuable belongings, making sure none of the colorful petals had withered or changed color. That they remained bright and radiant like the sun.

  
“Yes, they are, master.”

  
“Hm. So you knew about the incident?”

  
Jesse fell silent. He didn’t even mention that he went to the city, or that he had exchanged the news with the villagers. Somehow his masters were able to see through his façade, simply through watching Jesse’s facial expression or body language, knowing when he would hide something. It would always make him paranoid that he simply had no protection from them, that his thoughts and feelings were transparent enough like that.

  
And now his silence said it all.

  
“And why didn’t you come to inform me? Why did I have to know about this crisis solid three days later?” Zhao’s voice was cold as ice, harsh and piercing through his skin.

Jesse gulps.   
He was ready for any punches that could be thrown at him now, he braces himself.

But Zhao didn’t do other than standing there, looking down at the servant until he turns his back to him, and attending to the flowers.  
“Leave once you’re done. And don’t let anyone in. I want to have some time for myself.”

  
Jesse didn’t notice that he has been holding his breath until now, letting out a soft sigh when his master was a few steps away now.

This was close, and honestly he felt terrified. Now he should get out of here before Zhao changes his mind and-  
“Hey there, dear servant~”

  
This playful voice made him jump up instantly. No. This can’t be, not here, not now!

He panicked, getting on his feet and spinning around, facing the Oni sitting calmly on one of the benches not too far away. Jesse threw a glance to his master’s direction.

He was relieved that Zhao didn’t hear Hanzo; he was busy watering the plants and feeding the birds. Honestly, it looked so strange watching a cruel man like him be so gentle to nature…

  
“Is that him? Zhao? Oh my, he’s quite a looker… for a harsh master, that is.”  
Oh yeah, this annoying Oni was still here and on top of that making such remarks… They made Jesse feel a little uncomfortable, that anyone could find his master attractive, that there was something considered positive about him at all.

  
“And what are you doing here in the first place?” Jesse turned his attention back to the Oni, baring his teeth and growling a little when addressing him with these words.

  
“What now? Am I not welcomed here anymore?” Hanzo teased, adding a little chuckle to it.   
“Shush! He’ll hear you.”

  
“Did you say something, McCree?” Zhao looked over his shoulder, shaking his head when he only finds his servant standing between the rose bushes, doing nothing. “Why aren’t you gone now? You’re done, so please leave.”

  
“Yes. I apologize.” Jesse said, bowing to his master, and then throwing an angry glare at Hanzo when Zhao looked away.

  
“You’re coming with me!” The servant hissed quietly when grabbing for Hanzos wrist, pulling him along with him until they were inside.  
“Careful there, good servant, this is not how you treat noble men.”   
“I can’t believe you’re still pulling such an act! What if he found you? Damn it, you’re putting me on the line!” Jesse complained, crossing his arms.

  
“Alright, I apologize for causing you unnecessary stress.” Hanzo wanted to add something else to say, but didn’t even come to that due to McCree grabbing him by the arm again.

  
“Oh no, I’m not done with you yet!” And with that, Hanzo was being pulled by Jesse around the halls, walking to heaven knows where.   
“Where are you taking me, human?”   
“I don’t want to risk being detected again. Damn it, Hanzo, you have to think about what it means to me, alright?”   
But however, Hanzo was not affected by Jesse’s concerns that much. “What could happen anyway? You’re kind of exaggerating.”

  
Ignoring Hanzos comment, Jesse took him to his room, making sure that nobody saw them together until they have gotten inside.

  
“We’re safer here. So please, if you ever feel the need to bother me, just wait in my room, this could literally spare me so much stress, and maybe even save my life.”

  
Jesse’s room was modest. A simple bed for one person, a wooden desk, a chair and a window. It was also pretty cold in here. Strange, didn’t he own a chimney for the cold seasons?

  
“Hm. What is this, Jesse? You take me to your room without dining with me in a fancy place, first?” The Oni casually walked over to the bed, comfortably sitting on the mattress. He added a playfully provoking look to it.

  
“Quit this crap! You have some explanation to spit out here instead of playing charmer, alright?”   
Honestly, one day the servant is just going to strangle this Oni if he keeps on playing with his nerves.

  
“Can you please explain to me what on earth is going on? Why are the flowers withering, why are people getting ill all of a sudden, out of nowhere?”

  
At that, there was a crooked, unsettling smile spreading on Hanzos visage. Jesse gulped, taking a step back when Hanzo stood up abruptly.

  
“I have no idea what you want me to tell you.”  
Those eyes showed that there was definitely something that Hanzo knew about, something he was not willing to tell the servant about.

  
“Don’t… don’t play dumb on me, Hanzo.” There it was again, that intimidating aura that made the servant take a step backwards without wanting to. But he shook himself out of it, clearing his throat. “You know exactly what I want from you. Just freaking explain this situation, I don’t ask for more.”

  
“Why, dear servant, why am I supposed to explain? It’s you who is supposed to tell me what this crisis means. I haven’t done anything at all. It was alone your work. The powers I gave to you. You used them, don’t expect me to know what you did and why…”

  
Wait. This is impossible; it really didn’t make any sense to the servant. How could it be Jesse’s work if he didn’t even know about it? He didn’t even know what kind of powers he had been gifted, so how was he supposed to use them effectively, and with such a wide spreading impact?

  
He knew by now that Hanzo was serious when time would call for it, that he was indeed able to perform his significance to any given situation instead of being the mischievous annoyance at times. But he also was mysterious.

Just like the first night they met, he wouldn’t give away too much about his plans or his own powers even. His words were cryptic at best, to put it out simply. But it was written all over the Onis face: he always gets what he wants, in the end. And it seemed like Jesse was part of the plan.

  
And so, he just stood there silently, not knowing where to go on from here. Hanzo was clearly refusing to enlighten him on this matter, probably lying to him. Either that or he just kept a little part of the story to himself.

  
Just what did he get himself into? The feeling of regret and guilt felt like sickness in his stomach, paralyzing him right where he stood.

  
“Anyway. I have some business outside of the village to take care of. See you later, good servant.” The Oni said, heading out of the room. Jesse was startled, not able to form words in his head, literally feeling like he’s unable to act at all.

  
“Wait!” But he was too late when finally snapping out of it, running after the Oni but only finding an empty hallway when stepping out.  
He did this again. Damn it. He was playing with the servant, and it felt like he couldn’t do anything but play along.

 

______________

  
“I’m telling you guys, it’s so much worse than we have ever thought. It weren’t just a few animals and people living around our temple, but almost the entire human village!” Genji was making wide gestures with his arms, emphasizing on the danger and the seriousness of this matter.

  
“Yes, Genji, we understand. The thing is that we are unable to do much while we know so little.” Zarya hated putting his excitement down like that, but it was the hard fact. They have absolutely nothing to even start helping out.

  
“Well, I think I have something. Earlier this afternoon, I was chatting with Miss Amari. And while we were talking about the crisis, a servant from the palace came, and I tell you, he can be something where we can start off investigating. Hear me out, he personally said-“

  
“Good afternoon, astral guardians.”   
Genji grunted in annoyance, spinning to see who cut him off while he was having the word. Who dared visit the temple at this hour and on top of that interfere with Genjis moment?

  
It seemed to be nothing but a simple young man. Long ebony hair and a blue dress, he looked like he belonged to a noble family, with a parasol over his head. Huh, extravagantly presented in front of the guardians, he better have a good excuse to why he had cut them off.

  
“What’s the matter, human?” Pharah is the first to get up from her seat and to approach the stranger. She stands tall before him, casting a long shadow over his shorter figure.

  
“Oh, I am so sorry for interrupting you from your conversation. I was thinking that I could provide our protectors with some helpful information to solve this mystery. It’s such a tragic case, and I’m obligated to help you restore order back to the village.” He added a shy smile, and it seemed like he was able to soften the tension between them.

  
“Speak.” Pharah crossed her arms, narrowing her eyes at the stranger. As usual she would be a rough personality to deal with.

  
“Well… I took it upon myself to invest my time into doing some researches. And apparently there lives a spider monster outside of the village, right where the howling caves are located. Well, we all know the stories about those spiders. We grow up with these stories, which most of them have been proven to be true. Those filthy spider monsters spread any kind of disease to the places they live in.”

  
Spider monster, near the howling caves?

  
“Oh, those spider monsters. Truly dreadful creatures.” Mercy spoke up. The talk about spiders made her lose appetite for the tea she was drinking a moment ago. She grimaces, acting disgusted by the simple thought of those beings. “They love making people ill. Not many plagues were caused by them, but plenty enough to seal them into those dark caves forever. I mean, someone had to put an end to their actions sooner or later.”

  
“But… why attack after hundreds of years locked in the dark hole? Why now? “Zarya raised the question, a little confused as to how little sense this made to her.

  
“Who knows? Maybe their hunger for human flesh has been suppressed for too long, and now they can’t control their cravings.” With crossed arms, Genji spat out these words in a careless manner.

  
“Well, whatever the reasons behind spreading a disease might be, we have to take a look into it no matter what. Even if it could be the wrong path, we have to do something, anything. We don’t have any other options.” And with the azure dragon’s words, the rest agreed without hesitation.  
“Thank you for your help, human.” The leader added before they step out.

  
But the white tiger stopped at the gates, hesitating to follow his teammates. He turned around to face the stranger behind him who was about to leave the temple as well.

  
“I have never seen you before, human. What’s your name and where are you from? Could it really be that we haven’t met you until now?”

  
The other one chuckled, just like how an adult would do when a child would ask ridiculous questions.  
“I am from the palace, dear white tiger. I don’t go outside often, but I felt the need to share this little speculation with you. It seems important at times like these.”

  
But Genji narrowed his eyes, a spark of suspicion lighting up inside him.  
“You can call me Hanzo, dear guardian.”  
“…right…” the other man slowly said, unable to trust this specimen.

  
“When you’re done chatting you could maybe come along with us, Genji.” It was the leader calling out to him. The azure dragon clearly was losing patience, wanting nothing but to quickly pay a visit to the spider monsters and get it over with. Time was running out and people were slowly dying.

  
They flew off, becoming nothing more than four colorful dots, being swallowed up by the evening sky in the distance.

  
The Oni couldn’t help but smirk to himself, satisfied with his ability to persuade people and lure them into a trap. It only took him a shift of appearance to win over their trust that easily.


End file.
